Brazier with the Image of Chalchiuhtlicue
Date: 1325–1521 A.D.
Culture: Mexica (Aztec), Tláhuac, Mexico
Material: Ceramic

This ceremonial brazier is adorned with the image of Chalchiuhtlicue, the revered Aztec goddess of water, who ruled over lakes, rivers, and seas. Her name means “She of the Jade Skirt,” symbolizing purity, fertility, and life-giving abundance.

Chalchiuhtlicue, whose name means “She of the Jade Skirt,” was a major Aztec goddess associated with water in all its forms, including rivers, lakes, springs, and childbirth. Revered as a nurturing yet powerful divine figure, she governed fertility, purification, and the life-giving forces that sustained both people and the natural world.

Often depicted adorned with precious jade and flowing garments symbolizing moving water, Chalchiuhtlicue played a central role in myths of creation and renewal, guiding humanity through cycles of birth, growth, and transformation. As the patroness of midwives and infants, she embodied both protection and the unpredictability of water, making her one of the most vital and widely honored deities in the Aztec pantheon.